CAT/C/MUS/CO/4
(b)
Improve the mechanism for monitoring the fundamental safeguards
afforded to detainees by including detailed information on, inter alia, access to a
lawyer and medical visits in the records transmitted to the police information room
and the divisional or branch operations.
Arrest and pretrial detention
21.
The Committee is concerned at the number of arrests made in the State party without
passing the test of reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence. Moreover, the
Committee notes the explanation provided by the delegation that the pattern of pretrial
detention is attributable to the complexity of investigations of drug-related crimes with
international ramifications. At the same time, it remains concerned that as a result, pretrial
detention is increasingly used and that some detainees have been in pretrial detention for as
long as three years. More generally, the Committee is concerned at the slowness of judicial
procedures in the State party (arts. 2, 11, 12 and 16).
22.
The State party should:
(a)
Specify in its enactments, including in the police and criminal evidence
act to be adopted, safeguards for ensuring the full justification of arrests and
detentions, and provide the necessary training thereon to law enforcement personnel
and members of the judiciary;
(b)
Strengthen efforts to promote the use of alternative and non-custodial
measures to reduce the number and length of pretrial detentions. Pretrial detention
should be used only as a means of last resort, in exceptional circumstances, and for
limited periods, in accordance with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for
Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules);
(c)
Take the necessary measures to reduce the delays in criminal
proceedings.
Inadmissibility of statements made as a result of torture
23.
The Committee is concerned at reports about the overreliance of the police in the
State party on confessions for the purpose of investigation and prosecution and at reports of
extraction of confessions under duress. The Committee also notes with regret the lack of
information on cases where officials have been charged for having coerced arrested persons
into giving evidence. Moreover, the Committee is concerned at the judicial culture whereby
an appellate court would rarely quash a conviction based on a statement that the trial court
had deemed admissible (arts. 2 and 15).
24.
The Committee urges the State party to:
(a)
Expedite the installation of video and audio recording facilities in police
stations to ensure the monitoring of interrogation procedures;
(b)
Redouble efforts to improve methods of investigation based on
scientifically-based evidence, including training police officers on non-coercive
interrogation methods;
(c)
Make the necessary legislative changes so that statements obtained
through torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment are invalidated as evidence;
(d)
Permit appeal courts to review the admissibility of evidence, building on
the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court in the case of Rudolph Jean Jacques v the
State;
(e)
Investigate all reports of extraction of confession allegedly obtained
under duress, prosecute alleged perpetrators and punish anyone found responsible,
and ensure that such testimony is not allowed to be entered as evidence.
Juvenile justice
25.
The Committee notes the information provided by the delegation of the State party
that in camera proceedings could be considered for hearings involving minors. The
4